Reenforced-fiber dust guard for axle bearings



Filed March 2, l).9125

W D HAMERSTADT REENFORCED FIBER DUST GUARD FOR AXLE BEARINGS v March 2 ,1926.

INI/EN TOR. [40u/w1 #wwf/6579907.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 2, i925.

narran REENFORCED-FIBEBYDUST GUARD FOR AXLE BEARINGS.

Application filed March 2,-1925' Serial No. 12,695.

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, VJILLIAM D. I-IAMnr.- s'rAn'r, a. citizen of the United States, and a resident of Indianapolis, county `of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a eertain new and useful IteenforcedFiber Dust Guard for Jerle Bearings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accon'ipanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

This invention relates to a dust guard for axle journals of the truck type.

The chief object `of the invention is to provide a dust guard which will be at least as economical to produce as the present dust guards, and -which will be as satisfactory in service and which will have substantially the same length of life as the dust guards now utilized.

The chief kfeature of the invention consists in the construction of a dust guard.

.having the characteristics specified in the foregoing paragraph from a composition fibrous material such as fiber board stock of the general character utilized generally in the art for fiber pulley purposes.

Another feature of the invention consists in the construction. of the dust guard whereby the waste therefrom may be substantially utilized for other purposes, particularly fiber pulleys, thereby permitting a paper pulley manufacturer to successfully compete with the present dust guard manufacturers in the production and sale of alflbrous dust guard.

rIhe full nature 'of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

In the drawings Fig. l is an elevational view of a truck axle wheel journal and box the journal and box being shown in section to illustrate the mounting of the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective viewof the dust guard. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of a modified form of the invention.

In the drawings there is illustrated a conventional form of axle, wheel, journal and box. Herein l0 indicates the axle, l1 the wheel and l2 the connecting portion between the wheel supporting portion and the journal supported portion i3 of the axle. The framework of the truck carries the housing 14 having the closure 16, and said housing lli includes the axle receiving opening 17, which is defined by a groove or pocket forming construction 18. Positioned within the housing thus formed is thejournal 19 which is. associated with the journal end of the axle 10. All of the foregoing is old in the art and is the; standard railway truck construction.

lleretofore dust guards have been constructed of a solid board ofwood or a laminated board vof wood. These dust guards have necessarily been of wood because they must wear rather than the associated parts. 'Iheir function is to prevent the entrance of dust and dirt, picked up by the wheels and the air currents caused by the train passing over the right ofway, from entering the journal box and thereby increasing the friction between the journal and the journal end of the shaft which would cause a hot box and burn out the bearing.

rlChe present invention has for its object the utilization of fiber board such as 'that suitable for fiber pulley purposes which is fashioned with a suitable outline satisfactory for dust guard purposes. Ierein the board is shown clearly in Fig. 2 and comprises a single composite homogeneous fibrous plate 2t), having a U-shaped outline and a central circular opening` 2l, the center of which is coincident with 'the center of the curved portion of the U-shaped outline. As will be readily apparent from Fig. 2, the stock is relatively thin and is approximately oneeighth to one-quarter inch lin thickness. This permits the material to be punched instead of cut for forming the opening 21. A punched opening, therefore, leaves afree clean hole and provides a blank with a free or cleanperiphery. This permits the blank to be so utilized for fiber pulley purposes. It has been found that material of this character and of the thickness specified has sufficient strength necessary for dust guard purposes. Since, however, the pocket 18 is three-quarters of an inch in width to receive a live-eighths inch dust guard heretofore supplied, these dimensions being standard for all openings and required by the Master Car Builders Association, therefore to prevent positioning of this thinner yet equally or more serviceable material in this standard opening, there is required a spacing and sealing` element which incidentally serves as a support, and herein the same includes the transverse member 22 suitably secured by securing means 23 in the form of nails or the like. In Fig. 3 a modified form of the invention is shown in section and in this form of the invention this sealing strip or portion is c formed integral with the body portion 120 and the body may be folded once or more times upon itself to form the aforesaid sealing strip. The material utilized has one advantage over other material heretofore employed, and that is that this fibrous material will not shatter or fracture Whenthe axle is installed in the journal box. Heretofore this has been a considerable source of failure because after the dust guard has been shattered or fractured, the Wear is very rapid and unless the axle is accurately positioned in the journal with great care shattering is almost inevitable. This material, however, will not shatter or fracture, and therefore this great care in positioning the axle Within the journal box is not required, thereby reducing the time of assembling the arrangement disclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:

A dust guard for comprising a single ply of relatively rigid homogeneous fibrous sheet body centrally apertured for axle reception and having a top edge and sides, and a sealing strip integral therewith extending substantially across the sheet top from one side to the other thereof, and comprising a laterally projecting portion, a lateral extension thereof in spaced relation to the body, and another extension thereof lying parallel to the body and the lateral extension therebetween.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

WILLIAM D. HAMERSTADT.

i 25 truck axle journals, 

